Closure wall assembly

ABSTRACT

A closure wall assembly comprises a pair of horizontal framing members spaced from each other and at least a pair of vertical framing members also spaced from each other and extending between the horizontal framing members. The framing members comprise a web and a plurality of elongate flanges spaced from each other and extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the web and at least one of the faces of the web to define a plurality of elongate channels in substantially side by side relationship to each other. The respective channels have widths which differ from each other so as to be able to selectively receive the edges of substantially rigid sheets of closure material of differing widths. Female elongate receptacles are located adjacent the edges of the web and the receptacles have an elongate opening spaced from the edges of the web. A flexible sheet of closure material may cover at least one side of the framing members, and the flexible sheet of material is anchored to the framing members by an elongate locking member having an elongate male pin strip which is pressed through the opening and into the female receptacles together with a portion of said flexible sheet of material.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a closure wall assembly.

It is frequently desirable to erect some form of temporary or longer term closure or wall for containing an area, such as during construction or remodeling, to provide dust, moisture, sound, insect, thermal, security and/or safety containments or barriers. Such closure walls may be employed for example to close off portions of a single room by extending between the walls, ceiling and floor of the room, or for closing off or boarding up openings, such as windows or doors.

Such closures in the past have suffered various disadvantages including the requirement for the expenditure of extensive time and effort in their assembly, placement or removal. Moreover, some of these prior closures in many cases have been less than completely effective in achieving the barrier or closure desired.

In the closure wall assembly of the present invention, at least some if not all of these respective problems have been overcome. The closure wall assembly of the present invention is simple in construction and may be easily and rapidly assembled or disassembled in a minimum of time and with a minimum of effort and tools. The closure wall assembly of the present invention may be effective to maximize the protection against the migration of dust, moisture, sound, thermal energy and insects and to provide security and safety for the contained areas. In the closure wall assembly of the present invention, a wide variety of closure materials may be selected, including flexible materials of various mil thicknesses, such as Visqueen or other polymer sheets, fabric, screening and/or a wide variety of relatively rigid panel materials of various thicknesses and kinds, such as sheets of plywood, cardboard, drywall, decoration paneling, polymer panels, such as polycarbonates and plexiglass, and insulation and these materials may be either clear or opaque.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the course of this description, reference will frequently be made to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an installed closure wall assembly in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded, broken, perspective view showing portions of framing members constructed in accordance with the present invention and locking members which may be used with the framing members;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectioned end elevation view of the framing member as viewed substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectioned end elevation view of the locking member as viewed substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of locking member;

FIG. 6 is a broken, perspective view showing two assembled framing members and a flexible sheet of closure material forming the closure wall;

FIG. 7 is a broken, perspective view showing two assembled framing members and a substantially rigid panel of closure material of a given thickness;

FIG. 8 is a broken, perspective view showing two assembled framing members and a substantially rigid panel of closure material of a greater thickness; and

FIG. 9 is a broken, perspective view showing two assembled framing members and a substantially rigid panel of closure material of an even greater thickness.

Although a number of the foregoing figures are broken or cross-sectioned, cross hatching has been generally omitted for purposes of clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring particularly to FIG. 1, a closure wall W constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown. The closure wall W generally comprises a plurality of elongate framing members 10, including a horizontally extending framing member 12 which extends as a sill across the floor of the room R to be partitioned or closed, a framing member 14 which extends across the ceiling as a header of the room R, and vertical framing members 16 and 18 which extend between the horizontal framing members 12 and 14 as studs and adjacent the walls of the room R. Additional vertical framing members (unnumbered) also may be spaced from each other at intervals as studs between the vertical framing members 16 and 18, and they also extend between the horizontal framing members 12 and 14 as seen in FIG. 1.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, the framing members 10 comprise a substantially flat elongate web 20 having upper and lower faces 21 and 22 and longitudinally extending edges 23 and 24. An elongate female receptacle 26 is integrally formed with the web 20 to extend longitudinally along each of the web edges 23 and 24. The female receptacles 26 extend outwardly from the respective web edges 23 and 24 where they culminate in an elongate slotted opening 28 which opens to the outer faces of the framing members 10.

The elongate female receptacles 26 are formed to receive elongate locking members 30 as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 4. The locking members 30 include a longitudinally extending cap 32 and a longitudinally extending male pin strip 34. The pin strip 34 preferably includes longitudinally extending ridges 36 which frictionally engage complementary ridges 38 in the receptacles and adjacent the opening 28 when the pin strip 34 of the locking member 30 is inserted into the receptacle. The receptacles 26 also preferably have a greater width adjacent the web edges 23 and 24 than the width at the openings 28 as best seen in FIG. 3

The framing members 10 also include a plurality of flanges 40 and 42 which extend substantially perpendicular to the plane of the web 20 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The flanges 40 and 42 also extend longitudinally over the elongate length of the framing members 10. The flange 42 is preferably formed to include a first portion 44 and a second portion 46 which is laterally displaced from the first portion. As such, the distance between the first portion 44 of flange 42 and the flange 40 defines a first channel 48 and the distance between the second offset portion 46 and the flange 40 defines a second channel 50 which is greater in width than the channel 48. The channels 48 and 50 also extend longitudinally over the length of the elongated web 20. Thus, the channels 48 and 50 are capable of accommodating two different closure panels of differing widths as will be described later.

The framing members 10 also preferably include still another flange 52 which preferably extends from each face 21 and 22 of the web 20 and is also substantially perpendicular to the web faces 20 and 21 over the length of the framing member 10. Flange 52 also preferably includes a longitudinally extending capping flange 54 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 which facilitates the accommodation of a foam seal 56 as will be described later. The foam seal 56 may for example be a polyurethane foam. Thus, the flange 52 and the edges of its capping flange 54 define still a third channel 58 between the edge of the flange 54 and the second offset flange portion 46 of flange 42 to receive still an even thicker substantially rigid closure panel, if desired.

It will also be seen that an elongate channel 60 is defined between the offset portions 46 of Ranges 42 and the capping flange 54 on flange 52 as best seen in FIG. 2. The channel 60 is capable of receiving the elongate foam seal 56 as seen in FIG. 2. Thus, flange 54 effectively forms a seat for the foam seal 56 when the seal is positioned in the channel 60. The foam seal is of a size to be held in channel 60 under compression.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality of flanges 40 and 42 are preferably repeated on the other side of the same face 21 of the web 20, and are also duplicated in a more or less mirror image on the other face 22 of the web. Such duplication maximizes the capabilities of the framing member 10 to accept more than one closure panel and/or closure panels of differing nature and thickness in the closure wall W. Such flange duplication also permits the installation of flexible sheeting on either one or both sides of the framing member 10 and in either the presence of absence of one or more rigid closure panels in channels 48, 50 and/or 58.

The framing members 10 are preferably extruded from any one of a number of materials, such as plasticized wood products, ABS, PVC or the like. They preferably are formed of a material which may be sawed or otherwise cut to the proper length to form the final closure wall W as seen in FIG. 1. The framing members 10 may be approximately 2 inches by 2 inches in cross-section and may be made in varying lengths of from 8 to 20 feet.

Referring to FIG. 5, a modified form of locking member 30′ is shown. The locking member 30′, like the locking member 30 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, includes a cap 32′ and an elongate male pin strip 34′ having the friction ridges 36′ extending substantially over the length of the pin strip. Unlike the locking member 30 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the pin strip 34′ of the locking member 30′ is somewhat shorter than the cap 32′ and terminates short of the end of the cap 32′. This permits the pin strip 34′ of the locking member 30′ to be inserted into the slotted opening 28 of the framing member 10 which is to be vertical and the cap 32′ to extend over the flange 40 of the framing member 10 which is horizontal as seen in FIGS. 6-9. This permits the vertical and horizontal framing members 10 to be held in place where they intersect each other while other components of the closure wall W are being positioned. Moreover, where the closure material is to be a flexible sheet, such as the sheet 62 shown in FIG. 6, the locking member 30′ also functions to further secure the sheet to the vertical framing member 10 together with the locking members 30.

The locking members 30 and 30′ are preferably thermally injection molded from any one of a number of suitable polymers.

In FIG. 6 a broken cross-sectioned perspective view is shown of a vertical framing member assembled to a horizontal framing member and to which a flexible sheet of closure material 62 is attached to and covers the assembly. The flexible sheet 62 is attached to one or both sides of the framing assembly by insertion of the male pin strip 34 with its friction ridges 36 of the locking members 30 into the openings 28 of the female receptacles 26 on the framing members 10. If it is desired to seal the closure wall W about its perimeter, foam seals 56 are also inserted into the foam seal channel 60 as seen in FIG. 6.

As previously mentioned, the closure wall assembly of the present invention is not only capable of receiving a flexible sheet of closure material 62 on one or both sides as shown in FIG. 6, but is also capable of mounting and receiving one or more substantially rigid closure panels, such as plywood, cardboard, drywall, plexiglass or the like, and these panels may be of varying width. For example, referring to FIG. 7, a closure wall assembly W is shown in which the closure material 64 comprises a substantially rigid sheet of material, such as ⅛ inch thick plywood, the edges of which are preferably frictionally received in the channel 48 defined between the flange 40 and the portion 44 of the flange 42.

As shown in FIG. 8, the closure wall assembly W may also accommodate a substantially rigid closure panel 66 which is thicker, for example ¼ inch, than the thinner closure panel material 64 shown in FIG. 7. In this assembly, the edges of the thicker closure panel material 66 are preferably frictionally accommodated in the wider channel 50 which is defined between the flange 40 and the offset portion 46 of the flange 42.

In FIG. 9 a closure wall assembly W is shown in which the substantially rigid closure panel material 68 is even thicker, for example ½ inch, than the materials 64 or 66 in FIGS. 7 and 8. The edges of this still thicker material 68 are preferably frictionally received in the channel 58 which is defined between the upper offset portion 46 of the flange 42 and the edges of the capping flange 54 of flange 52.

It will be appreciated that the framing members 10 of the present invention may accommodate more than one substantially rigid closure panel of the same or different materials and/or thicknesses and with or without the flexible sheet material.

Although it is believed that the foregoing description of the closure wall assembly of the present invention is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to understand how the closure wall W is assembled and put into position, a brief description of a preferred assembly procedure follows for the assembly of a closure wall of flexible sheet material 62 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, such as a fabric, polymer sheet or screen.

A first framing member 10 which is to form the horizontal sill member 12 at the floor is cut to the required length. If a moisture, dust, fume or insect seal is desired, the foam seal 56 is inserted into the foam seal channel 60. Because the foam seal is compressable, it is held under compression in the channel 60.

Another framing member which is to constitute a vertical component of the assembly, such as the vertical stud members 16 or 18 shown in FIG. 1, is also cut to the proper length allowing enough space to accommodate the top horizontal header framing member 14 as shown in FIG. 1. Any other vertical stud members are also cut and placed into position.

Finally, the top header framing member 14 is placed at the top of the vertical framing members 16 and 18 and other studs to form the top horizontal member 14 and is cut to the proper length.

Again if a moisture, dust, fume or insect seal is desired, the foam seal 56 is inserted into the foam seal channel 60 of the vertical stud framing members 16 and 18 and the header framing member 14 which are to be positioned about the perimeter of the closure wall W.

The flexible closure sheet material 62 as shown in FIG. 6 is now ready for placement on the assembled framing members 10. The sheet 62 is laid over the assembled framing members and is secured into place by insertion of the elongate pin strips 34 of the locking members 30 into the openings 28 of the female receptacles 26 at selected intervals along the vertical and horizontal framing members as seen in FIG. 1. When the pin strips 34 of the locking members 30 are inserted through the openings 28, the leading edge of the pin strip will draw a portion of the sheet material 62 into the female receptacles 26. For this reason, the width of the receptacles is preferably somewhat greater adjacent the edges 23 and 24 of the web 20 than at the opening 28 to accommodate this material. As the locking members 30 are inserted into the female receptacles 26, the flexible closure material 62 will be tensioned somewhat to remove wrinkles and the like. Once the pin strips 34 of the locking members 30 have been fully inserted into the female receptacles 26, they will be frictionally held by the interaction between their ridges 36 and the complementary ridges 38 in the female receptacles. Insertion of the pin strips 34 of the locking members 30 may be manual, but if necessary a hammer may be used. The locking members 30 may be installed for example at 6 inch intervals or so.

In order to further secure the vertical framing members 16 and 18 to the horizontal framing members 12 and 14 at the locations at which they abut, the locking member 30′ shown in FIG. 5 is also preferably installed as seen in FIG. 6. When installed, the pin strip 34′ of the locking member 30′ also extends through the opening 28 together with some of the flexible sheet material 62 and into the female receptacle 26 of the vertical framing member 10, and the end of the cap 32 extends over the abutting flange 40 of the horizontal framing member 10 as seen in FIG. 6.

At this point any excess flexible sheet material 62 which extends beyond the frame members 10 may be trimmed.

With the closure wall W assembly completely assembled, the horizontal and vertical framing members are further held in place by the flexible sheet material 62 which has been anchored to them. The assembly may then be installed into the opening which it was built to enclose by hoisting or laying up the assembly in the same manner that any prebuilt wall section would be installed using standard construction methods. It may be secured into place with screws secured into the walls, floor or ceiling, or it may be held in place by the compressed foam seal 56. When the foam seal 56 is employed, it will be appreciated that no damage will be sustained to the walls, floor or ceiling as might occur if the frame members 10 are screwed to these surfaces.

The assembly of the closure walls W which employ one or more substantially rigid panels 64, 66 and/or 68 as shown in FIGS. 7-9 is similar to that just described. For these assemblies the locking member 30′ is first installed to hold the abutting horizontal framing members 12 and 14 in place with the vertical framing members 16 and 18 as seen in FIGS. 7-9. Once these framing members 10 are aligned, the edges of the substantially rigid panel members 64, 66 or 68 are positioned in the appropriate channels 48, 50 and/or 58 for their thickness, and the assembly is hoisted into place.

Again, like the assembly having the flexible sheet material 62 anchored thereto, the substantially rigid panels 64, 66 and/or 68 hold the horizontal and vertical framing members in place because their edges are preferably frictionally engaged into the channels 48, 50 and/or 58.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the closure wall assembly of the present invention may be simply, easily and rapidly constructed or removed using readily available tools, and is highly effective to provide dust, moisture, sound, thermal and/or insect protection as well as security. Moreover, the closure wall assembly of the present invention is capable of utilizing a wide variety of closure materials including a variety of flexible sheet materials as well as substantially rigid paneling having any one of several different thicknesses. And, the framing members 10 may be extruded from any one of a number of readily available inexpensive materials.

It will be understood that the preferred embodiments of the present invention which have been described are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. Modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A framing member for a closure comprising: an elongate web having opposite faces; a plurality of elongate flanges spaced from each other and extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said web and at least one of said faces of said web to define at least two elongate channels in substantially side by side relationship to each other which extend in substantially parallel relationship to the plane of said web and in the same direction as the elongation of said web; and one of said channels having a width which is less than the width of the other said channel, said channels being constructed and arranged to selectively receive the edge of a substantially rigid sheet of closure material of either a first lesser width in said one of said channels or of a second greater width in said other of said channels.
 2. The framing member of claim 1, wherein one of said flanges includes a first portion and a second portion which is laterally displaced from said first portion and the other said flange, and wherein said other said flange and said first portion define said one of said channels of lesser width, and said other flange and said displaced second portion define said other said channel of greater width.
 3. The framing member of claim 1, including a third elongate flange laterally spaced from said plurality of flanges and also extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said web and said at least one of said faces of said web to define a third elongate channel in substantially side by side relationship to the other channels, said third channel also extending in substantially parallel relationship to the plane of said web and in the same direction as the elongation of said web; and said third channel having a width which is greater than the width of the other said channels, said third channel being constructed and arranged to selectively receive the edge of a substantially rigid sheet of closure material which is of an even greater width than the widths of the closure materials that are adapted to be received in said other said channels.
 4. The framing member of claim 2, including a third elongate flange spaced laterally from said plurality of flanges and also extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said web and said at least one of said faces of said web to define a third elongate channel in substantially side by side relationship to the other channels, said third channel also extending in substantially parallel relationship to the plane of said web and in the same direction as the elongation of said web; and said third channel having a width which is greater than the width of the other said channels, said third channel being constructed and arranged to selectively receive the edge of a substantially rigid sheet of closure material which is of an even greater width than the widths of the closure materials that are adapted to be received in said other said channels.
 5. The framing member of claim 1, including a second said plurality of elongate flanges extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said web and said at least one face of said web and spaced laterally from the first of said plurality of elongate flanges.
 6. The framing member of claim 1, including a said plurality of said elongate flanges on each of the opposite faces of said web.
 7. The framing member of claim 6, including a second said plurality of elongate flanges extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said web and on each of the opposite faces of said web and spaced laterally from the first of said plurality of elongate flanges on each of said web faces.
 8. The framing member of claim 4, including a second said plurality of elongate flanges extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said web and said one face of said web and spaced laterally from the first of said plurality of elongate flanges and said third flange.
 9. The framing member of claim 8, including a said plurality of said elongate flanges and said third flange on each of the opposite faces of said web.
 10. The framing member of claim 9, including a second said plurality of elongate flanges extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said web on each of the opposite faces of said web and spaced laterally from the first of said plurality of elongate flanges and said third flange on each of said web faces.
 11. The framing member of claim 10, wherein at least a pair of the aforementioned flanges on at least one side of said web are constructed and arranged relative to each other to receive an elongate seal.
 12. The framing member of claim 6, wherein at least a pair of the aforementioned flanges on at least one side of said web are constructed and arranged relative to each other to receive an elongate seal.
 13. The framing member of claim 1, wherein said elongate web includes at least one elongate edge extending in the direction of elongation of said web; and a female elongate receptacle adjacent said edge and extending substantially parallel to said edge, said receptacle having an elongate opening spaced from and extending substantially parallel to said edge of said web.
 14. The framing member of claim 13, in which said female receptacle has a width adjacent said edge of said web which is greater than its width adjacent said elongate opening.
 15. The framing member of claim 14, wherein said elongate web includes opposite elongate edges extending in the direction of the web, and a said female elongate receptacle is adjacent each said edge.
 16. The framing member of claim 13, wherein said elongate web includes opposite elongate edges extending in the direction of the web, and a said female elongate receptacle is adjacent each said edge.
 17. The framing member of claim 10, wherein said elongate web includes at least one elongate edge extending in the direction of elongation of said web; and a female elongate receptacle adjacent said edge and extending substantially parallel to said edge, said receptacle having an elongate opening spaced from and extending substantially parallel to said edge of said web.
 18. The framing member of claim 17, in which said female receptacle has a width adjacent said edge of said web which is greater than its width adjacent said elongate opening.
 19. The framing member of claim 18, wherein said elongate web includes opposite elongate edges extending in the direction of the web, and a said female elongate receptacle is adjacent each said edge.
 20. The framing member of claim 17, wherein said elongate web includes opposite elongate edges extending in the direction of the web, and a said female elongate receptacle is adjacent each said edge.
 21. A framing member for a closure comprising: an elongate web having opposite faces and edges extending in the direction of elongation of said web; a pair of elongate flanges which extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said web and each of said opposite faces respectively; and a female receptacle adjacent at least one said edge, said receptacle having an opening spaced from said one edge of said web.
 22. The framing member of claim 21, wherein said female receptacle is elongate and substantially parallel to said one edge, and said opening is elongate and extends substantially parallel to said one edge of said web.
 23. The framing member of claim 22, in which said female receptacle has a width adjacent said one edge of said web which is greater than its width adjacent said elongate opening.
 24. The framing member of claim 23, wherein a said female elongate receptacle is located adjacent each said edge of said web.
 25. The framing member of claim 22, wherein a said female elongate receptacle is located adjacent each said edge.
 26. A closure comprising a pair of horizontal framing members spaced from each other and at least a pair of vertical framing members also spaced from each other and extending between said horizontal framing members, said framing members comprising the framing member as set forth in claim 1, and a closure material comprising at least one substantially rigid panel having its edges positioned in at least one of said channels of the framing members.
 27. A closure comprising a pair of horizontal framing members spaced from each other and at least a pair of vertical framing members also spaced from each other and extending between said horizontal framing members, said framing members comprising the framing member as set forth in claim 4, and a closure material comprising at least one substantially rigid panel having its edges positioned in at least one of said channels of the framing members.
 28. A closure comprising a pair of horizontal framing members spaced from each other and at least a pair of vertical framing members also spaced from each other and extending between said horizontal framing members, said framing members comprising the framing member as set forth in claim 10, and a closure material comprising at least one substantially rigid panel having its edges positioned in at least one of said channels of the framing members.
 29. A closure comprising a pair of horizontal framing members spaced from each other and at least a pair of vertical framing members also spaced from each other and extending between said horizontal framing members, said framing members comprising the framing member as set forth in claim 11; a closure material comprising at least one substantially rigid panel having its edges positioned in at least one of said channels of the framing members; and wherein the elongate seal when received in said framing member seals the perimeter framing members of said closure.
 30. A closure comprising a pair of horizontal framing members spaced from each other and at least a pair of vertical framing members also spaced from each other and extending between said horizontal framing members, said framing members comprising the framing member as set forth in claim 14, and a closure material comprising a flexible sheet of material which covers at least one side of said framing members, said flexible sheet of material being anchored to said framing members by an elongate locking member having an elongate male pin strip which is pressed through said opening and into said female receptacle together with a portion of said flexible sheet of material.
 31. A closure comprising a pair of horizontal framing members spaced from each other and at least a pair of vertical framing members also spaced from each other and extending between said horizontal framing members, said framing members comprising the framing member as set forth in claim 23, and a closure material comprising a flexible sheet of material which covers at least one side of said framing members, said flexible sheet of material being anchored to said framing members by an elongate locking member having an elongate male pin strip which is pressed through said opening and into said female receptacle together with a portion of said flexible sheet of material. 